Leaf support biomechanics of neotropical understory herbs.

Plants in light-limited tropical rainforest understories face an important carbon allocation trade-off: investment of available carbon into photosynthetic tissue should be advantageous, while risk of damage and mortality from falling debris favors investment into nonphotosynthetic structural tissue. We examined the modulus of rupture (σ(max)), Young's modulus of elasticity (E), and flexural stiffness (F) of stems and petioles in 14 monocot species from six families. These biomechanical properties were evaluated with respect to habitat, rates of leaf production, clonality, and growth form. Species with higher E and σ(max), indicating greater resistance per unit area to bending and breaking, respectively, tended to be shade-tolerant, slow growing, and nonclonal. This result is consistent with an increase in carbon allocation to structural tissue in shade-tolerant species at the expense of photosynthetic tissue and growth. Forest- edge species were weaker per unit area (had a lower E), but had higher flexural stiffness due to increases in stem and petiole diameter. While this is inefficient in requiring more carbon per unit of structural support, it may enable forest-edge species to support larger and heavier leaves. Our results emphasize the degree to which biomechanical traits vary with ecological niche and illustrate suites of characteristics associated with different carbon allocation strategies.

Developmental and physiological correlates of leaf size in Hyeronima alchorneoides (Euphorbiaceae).

The tropical emergent tree Hyeronima alchorneoides has large decreases in leaf size with tree age: 1200 cm(2) at 1 yr, 900 cm(2) at 3 yr, 200 cm(2) at 11 yr, and 80 cm(2) in old (>30 yr) individuals. We tracked leaf growth and physiological attributes on trees of three different ages (1, 3, and 11 yr) to determine the developmental basis and functional consequences of this variation. Leaves on young trees grew faster and sustained maximum rates of leaf expansion longer than leaves on older trees. Leaf mass per area (LMA) did not differ among age classes. Maximum photosynthetic rates reflected differences in leaf nitrogen concentration, in which leaves from the lower crown of younger trees outperformed those at a comparable crown position in older trees. One-year-old trees had the lowest stomatal conductance and the greatest instantaneous water use efficiency. Ontogenetic plasticity in mature leaf size, structure, and physiology may be a balance between the advantages conferred by rapid height growth when trees are young and the benefits derived from producing branches that increase light harvesting ability as trees reach the canopy.

Nitrogen isotope ratios shift with plant size in tropical bromeliads.

We describe an ontogenetic shift in nitrogen (N) isotopic values in two rosette-forming epiphytic bromeliads. Leaf tissue N isotope values of small individuals of two bromeliad species (mean -6.2 per thousand ) differed from those of large individuals within each species (mean -0.5 per thousand ). Using references for potential N sources, we calculated the relative contribution of autochthonous (soil-derived through leaf litter) and allochthonous (atmospheric deposition) N with a two-member mixing model. Atmospheric sources contributed as much as 77-80% of the N in small individuals, whereas soil-derived N contributed 64-72% (conservative reference value) to 100% (less conservative reference value) of leaf tissue N in large plants. Shifts in N source with increasing plant size may be important aspects of rainforest complexity, an understudied aspect of ecosystem diversity.